As peace talks stall and fighting intensifies, a prominent US Congressman tells the Kyiv Post that military and economic pressure are the only way to an ‘honorable’ end to the war.
Sept. 2, 2025
WASHINGTON DC – A prominent US lawmaker from the Republican party is calling on President Donald Trump to take a tougher stance against Russia, arguing that the administration’s current diplomatic strategy has failed to stop Moscow’s war in Ukraine.
Congressman Don Bacon (R-NE), a member of the House Armed Services Committee, said in an exclusive interview with Kyiv Post that the time for diplomatic ultimatums has passed.
“It is clear Putin doesn’t want peace unless he can dominate Ukraine,” the congressman told Kyiv Post’s Washington correspondent on Monday.
“President Trump needs to have moral clarity and be the leader of the free world and take action now,” he emphasized.
“We need to send high-end weapons to Ukraine and impose secondary sanctions against Russia. Being tough on Putin is the only way to end this war honorable,” the lawmaker said.
Deadlines Ignored, Attacks Escalate
Congressman Bacon’s comments came as another deadline set by Trump for a Ukraine ceasefire expired without any public response from Russia or new US sanctions.
The latest ultimatum, which sought to pressure Russia into peace talks, followed a similar demand that also passed in early August, leading instead to a meeting between Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin in Alaska.
Despite the failed deadlines, Putin was in Tianjin, China, attending the Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO) summit, where he claimed his talks with Trump could “open the path toward peace” in Ukraine.
However, his rhetoric was undermined by his own military’s actions on the ground. Just last week, a missile and drone barrage in Kyiv, killing two dozen people, wounding even more.
Skepticism from Allies and Officials
In the meantime, Putin used the SCO platform to defend his 2022 invasion, blaming the West and accusing NATO of trying to draw Ukraine into its orbit.
The duality of his message – talking of peace while escalating attacks – has led to accusations that he is simply buying time.
French President Emmanuel Macron has reportedly called it a case of Putin “playing” Trump, while Ukraine’s Zelensky has noted a clear escalation in attacks since the Alaska summit.
The lack of public comment from the White House on the latest deadline has further fueled speculation about the administration’s next move.
Steven Pifer, former US Ambassador to Ukraine, wrote on social media Monday afternoon: “After Trump let 5 deadlines pass without taking action, hard to imagine that Putin is worried about the consequences this time.”
Speaking to Fox News on Monday, Treasury Secretary Scott Bessent warned that “all options are on the table” for new sanctions, accusing Putin of having “in a despicable, despicable manner, increased the bombing campaign” since the Alaska summit.
Bessent also criticized India, which has been purchasing large quantities of Russian oil, as not being a “great actor” in the conflict.
He dismissed the SCO summit as “largely performative,” downplaying the optics of Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi meeting with both Putin and Chinese President Xi Jinping.
With negotiations stalled, and Russia pursuing its military objectives while seemingly unfazed by Trump’s repeated threats, the calls from lawmakers like Bacon for a more aggressive US response are likely to intensify.
https://www.kyivpost.com/post/59294
Quite honestly, who believed that Taco would FINALLY back up his umpteenth threat to mafia land? I think nobody except for a few die-hard Taco fans. Remember, Trump Always Chickens Out.
12 July 2020 :
Over the weekend, Republican Steve Schmidt, who ran John McCain’s 2008 campaign for president, was interviewed on MSNBC.
In response to a very general question regarding the Trump Presidency, Mr. Schmidt spoke for two solid minutes and gave the most insightful and brutally honest response of what the Trump Presidency has done to our great country.
“Donald Trump has been the worst president this country has ever had. And, I don’t say that hyperbolically. He is. But he is a consequential president. And, he has brought this country in three short years to a place of weakness that is simply unimaginable if you were pondering where we are today from the day where Barack Obama left office. And, there were a lot of us on that day who were deeply skeptical and very worried about what a Trump presidency would be. But this is a moment of unparalleled national humiliation, of weakness.”
“When you listen to the President, these are the musings of an imbecile. An idiot. And I don’t use those words to name call. I use them because they are the precise words of the English language to describe his behavior. His comportment. His actions. We’ve never seen a level of incompetence, a level of ineptitude so staggering on a daily basis by anybody in the history of the country whose ever been charged with substantial responsibilities.”
“It’s just astonishing that this man is president of the United States. The man, the con man, from New York City. Many bankruptcies, failed businesses, a reality show, that branded him as something that he never was. A successful businessman. Well, he’s the President of the United States now, and the man who said he would make the country great again. And he’s brought death, suffering, and economic collapse on truly an epic scale.”
“And, let’s be clear. This isn’t happening in every country around the world. This place. Our place. Our home. Our country. The United States. We are the epicenter. We are the place where you’re the most likely to die from this disease. We’re the ones with the most shattered economy. And we are, because of the fool that sits in the Oval Office behind the Resolute Desk.
“His comportment. His actions….”
And that was before he started mincing around to gay disco anthems.